Easy Money: Fed Policies Spur Corporate Spending

Historically low interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve have paid off for Fricks Co., a maker of industrial concrete floors based in Fort Worth, Texas.

On one side of the ledger, the low rates have encouraged several big customers to dust off construction plans they had shelved during the recession, bringing in a flood of work, says Ronald Arrington, the privately held company's chief financial officer. "Our estimator...